It’s 2007. You’re sitting in your car on a summer night. Windows down with your local rock station blasting on the radio. Shinedown and Godsmack are played back to back. You’re now sitting there asking yourself, “wouldn’t it be great if these two bands toured together?” *Fast forward to 2018:*

On August 25th 2018, the rock legends Shinedown and Godsmack rolled into the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA.

Pearl Jam, Metallica, Shinedown and Godsmack could be heard blaring out of cars in the tailgating areas before the show’s shenanigans commenced. All the 19,900 fans were ready to head-bang.

With both Shinedown and Godsmack surpassing fifteen years in the music industry, the only way to accurately represent their success is with a stage full of pyrotechnics and fire. Both of these sets could have been mistaken for a 4th of July celebration. Those sitting on the lawn perimeter could even feel the heat from the flames protruding to the venue ceiling.

Sure, any band with a long lasting career in the music industry can afford a fancy display to showcase while performing. But it takes more than a bank account and fireworks to make a concert great. A great example of this was found during Shinedown’s performance of “Simple Man” off of Leave a Whisper(2003). During this song, Brent Smith (Shinedown’s vocalist) ran through the crowd to stand on a table elevated in the middle of the venue to create a closer connection with the crowd. A request was then asked by Brent for everyone to take their phones out and shine them bright while “Simple Man” filled the Xfinity Center. Not a light was being used in the venue apart from the crowd’s cell phone participation.

The same vibe was also felt once Godsmack made their presence during this evening. What was a pleasant surprise to everyone was Godsmack’s cover of “Highway to Hell” by ACDC - brining all in attendance back to the 1979 for a few minutes. Godsmack closed out their evening with the ever-popular track “I Stand Alone” off of Faceless(2003). Although both of these bands have been around for a minute, their performances have not faltered in any way. Expect to see more pyrotechnics and flamethrowers in the near future for both of these bands.

​Fall means tours, lots of tours. It feels like we wake up every morning to a new alert of another favorite band announcing a tour - is there anything better? This Fall's list of killer tours didn't disappoint - especially not with this show.

The Webster was packed with fans enjoying the supporting bands, but nothing matched the energy when Neck Deep came on. The atmosphere was jubilant, filled with carefree fans singing along to their favorite band. Neck Deep is both able to perform in a way that is energetic enough to engage a neutral fan, while also using the vulnerability shown in their lyrics to connect with fans in an almost therapeutic way. It was truly a great show - be sure to catch them on the remaining dates of tour! ​

On October 1st, All Time Low played a last minute make up show in Houston, Texas at White Oak Music Hall. Not only was this show impressive, because they managed to scramble and get a venue after having to cancel their co-headliner with Dashboard Confessional. All Time Low and Gnash managed to keep the energy high from the second doors opened to when they played their outro.

​First up was Gnash, a pop-rap musician with happiness leaking from his pores. He got on stage and immediately started with his radio single “I hate u, I love u” [ft. Olivia O'Brien] and the crowd went crazy. The crowd was dancing and screaming lyrics to his songs within the first song! Throughout his set he would dance and tell the crowd to dance just a crazy as he was, so they would move with him. It was fun to watch and left the room with a bubbly atmosphere.

Next, was All Time Low the act we’ve been waiting for. The lights dropped, and the band emerged on stage. The drums began, and familiar lyrics started to ring out. The band would interact with each other and the crowd creating a sense of belonging for everyone there.

Throughout the show the band would stop and talk with people in the crowd, getting everyone involved with the show. With a perfect mix of classic All Time Low and new All Time Low, I’d say everyone got exactly what they paid for. A night to go in the books.

This show was nothing less than perfection due to the combination of talent that was different in its own way. If you are lucky enough to catch this tour or was lucky enough to have caught it already, you understand the perfect build up and anticipation each band gives all the way up until Fozzy controls that stage from start to finish.

As the opening special guests (The Stir, Stone Broken, Adelitas Way) completed their headbanging/venue rocking sets, you could feel the energy in the venue as everyone waited for Fozzy. As soon as the lights cut out, The Forge erupted as Chris Jericho (Vocals) and his band of rockstars came out strong from the start as they dropped the hit song “Judas”!

The thing that makes Fozzy such a fun band to see live, is that they don’t lift their foot off the gas, which forces the crowd to be theirs till the very end. Lead singer Chris Jericho has always been a person to get the crowd going ever since he started in the wrestling industry. It is obvious that he derives those special set of crowd interaction skills from the WWF/WWE and they work.

The thing that makes Fozzy such a super group though is that band members, Rich Ward (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals), Frank Fontsere (Drums), Billy Grey (Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals), and Randy Drake (Bass) have plenty of experience as well and know how to work a crowd just like Chris! One second you’re watching Jericho smash his vocals and then before you know it Rich Ward is jumping off stage and leaping into the crowd giving us some good ol’ fashion hard Rock N’ Roll.

As Fozzy’s perfectly planned out setlist wrapped up, the crowd needed one more thing and Chris Jericho and the band gave us exactly that! A Y2K Jericho pose that lead right into their smashing hit "Sandpaper" to end an amazing night of Rock!

Fozzy is definitely an experience to see live, so check the tour dates below to see if they are coming to a venue near you!